Requiem for Methuselah
' |image= |series= |production=60043-76 |producer(s)= |story= |script=Jerome Bixby |director=Murray Golden |imdbref=tt0708444 |guests=James Daly as Flint, Louise Sorel as Rayna Kapec, William Blackburn as Lt. Hadley, Roger Holloway as Lt. Lemli |previous_production=The Way to Eden |next_production=The Savage Curtain |episode=TOS S03E19 |airdate=14 February 1969 |previous_release=The Lights of Zetar |next_release=The Way to Eden |story_date(s)=5343.7-5843.8 (2269) |previous_story=The Way to Eden |next_story=The Savage Curtain }} Summary The crew of the Federation starship USS Enterprise is struck with deadly Rigellian Fever. They arrive at the remote planet Holberg 917-G in search of the mineral Ryetalyn, used to manufacture a cure. Sensors detect no humanoid life. Captain Kirk, first officer Spock and medical officer Dr. McCoy beam down to the planet to investigate and are attacked by a robot. The robot is called off by its master, who identifies himself as Flint. Flint claims that the landing party is trespassing, and orders them to leave immediately. Kirk will not accept Flint's authority, and orders chief engineer Scott on the Enterprise to fire the ship's phasers at their position if they are harmed. McCoy tells Flint about the disease threatening the Enterprise crew and their urgent need for Ryetalyn. Flint displays emotion when he hears McCoy's comparison of the disease to bubonic plague, and describes the agonies suffered by the stricken in Constantinople in the summer of 1334. He gives the landing party two hours to gather the Ryetalyn, offering his sentry robot M4 to find and gather the mineral. Flint escorts them to his home, which has an impressive collection of Earth artifacts (including paintings by Leonardo da Vinci and a Gutenberg Bible). Spock, however, is puzzled when his tricorder scans indicate that the works are recent creations with contemporary materials. The party is surprised by the appearance of Flint's beautiful young ward, Rayna Kapec. Rayna likes Spock, who is impressed by her knowledge of physics. According to Flint, her parents were employees who died in an accident. Kirk plays billiards with Rayna, and they dance to a waltz played on the piano by Spock. The Vulcan calls the waltz an unknown piece by Johannes Brahms, written in manuscript with contemporary ink. In Flint's lab, McCoy analyzes the Ryetalyn gathered by M4; it is contaminated with irilium, and useless. When Kirk kisses Rayna, M4 attacks him and Spock destroys the robot with his phaser. Kirk confronts Flint about the attack and Flint says that M4 misinterpreted Kirk's actions as hostile. Although Kirk forgives the incident, Flint summons a replacement sentry. Kirk contacts the Enterprise and asks communications officer Uhura to research Flint and Rayna. Uhura learns that Holberg 917-G was purchased thirty years earlier by Brack, a private investor. With a surreptitious tricorder scan, Spock learns that Flint is over 6,000 years old. Rayna comes to say goodbye to Kirk, who has fallen in love with her and begs her to accompany him. McCoy tells them that the Ryetalyn is missing, and Spock follows tricorder readings to a chamber with the bodies of other Raynas—all androids. Kirk demands an explanation, and Flint confesses that he was born in Mesopotamia in 3834 BC. A soldier, after falling in battle he discovered he could not die. Flint lived "lifetimes" as Leonardo da Vinci, Brahms, Solomon, Alexander, Lazarus, Methuselah, Merlin and others. He made Rayna as a mate who would "live" forever, and refuses to let them leave knowing his secret. According to Flint, Kirk has taught Rayna how to love and he wants Kirk to redirect her love to himself. Kirk refuses to cooperate, but when he orders the Enterprise beam them up Flint miniaturizes the Enterprise and its crew in his home. Although he is shamed into restoring the ship, when he realizes Rayna will not return his love Flint attacks Kirk. Rayna tries to stop the fight, her feelings torn between the two men, and she dies. Flint and Kirk, grief-stricken, stop fighting. Flint allows Kirk to leave with the Ryetalyn. On the Enterprise, McCoy discovers from his tricorder readings that Flint is dying. Although earthly conditions made him immortal, living outside that environment has caused him to gradually age normally. Kirk is distraught over Rayna, and Spock helps him forget her with a Vulcan mind meld. Errors and Explanations Plot Oversights # When Flint first suggests that M4 process the ryetalyn, McCoy pipes up that he would like to supervise. Flint readily agrees, and the doctor follows M4 to the lab. Once there, M4 flies behind into the far end of the room, and a door blocks McCoy's path. True, the partition is made of a substance like frosted glass, but the doctor can’t tell what M4 is doing back there. Yet the easily agitated McCoy takes it all in stride and opts to wait for the robot to return. Does this seem right? Wouldn’t McCoy march out and grouse at Flint because he can't see what's going on? The outer door of the lab could also be shut, possibly as a safety measure. # Presumably a person rises to the position of captain of a starship because he puts the needs of his crew and vessel above his own. In this episode, however, Spock continually reminds Kirk that they need to concentrate on procuring the ryetalyn. His crew is dying from a horrible plague, and in the space of fewer than four hours he goes so rabid for a woman that he seemingly loses all concern for the 430 men and women aboard his ship’? Is this believable, or does he just need to visit Rigley’s Pleasure Planet for a couple of weeks? Kirk's sense of logic could be disrupted by an energy field unknowingly emitted by Rayna. # At the end of the episode, time is short. The landing party finds the ryetalyn and then McCoy hangs around to look at the full-size Barbie dolls that Flint has created for his amusement. Shouldn't the doctor beam back to the ship immediately with the medicine? He can't risk returning to Enterprise without Kirk. # Compounding this oversight, the creators have the landing party chat about Rayna’s true nature. Then Flint shows up and Kirk refuses to leave, and they get into a fistlight—throwing each other around while the precious, life-saving ryetalyn sits on a table very near their altercation! Even if we accept that Kirk is hopelessly smitten with this android, what's wrong with McCoy? ls the scene too juicy to interrupt with something as mundane as saving lives? McCoy is concerned about Kirk's current wellbeing. # At the end of the episode, Kirk longs to forget Rayna, and McCoy mumbles that it would be better if the captain could forget her. In response, Spock wanders over, puts his hand to Kirk’s head, and says, “Forget.” lt Spock can actually make Kirk forget Rayna, isn't the Vulcan required to fill in the gap with something? Wouldn’t Starﬂeet Command be upset that their flagship’s captain is missing several hours of his lite? Would this mental deficiency be cause for concern? And even if Spock puts something in its place, isn't there still a problem in their reports? Kirk would remember the events one way, Spock and McCoy another. It is more likely that Spock is helping Kirk forget the pain concerning the loss of Rayna. Equipment Oddities # Flint appears to have a Romulan computer on the desk in his lab. Perhaps it mearly looks like a Romulan computer. # Kirk makes log entries in which he mentions Flint. Yet at the end of the episode, Kirk claims that he can keep Flint's existence a secret. Doesn’t Startleet Command get a copy of the captain's logs? Either the references to Flint are edited out, or the log entries are sealed or deleated. # Some of the computer panels in Flint’s lab made a recent appearance in the episode Whom Gods Destroy. Do they get paid extra for this? The resemblance of Flint's computers to the ones on Elba III is similar to the resemblance between different makes of computers here on Earth. # The first time M4 meets the landing party, the robot deactivates their phasers. Then, during its later attack on Kirk, it deactivates his phaser. Coming to the rescue, Spock walks into the room and shoots M4 . . . with his phaser! Why didn't M4 deactivate Spock’s phaser? The creators tried to smooth this over by having the Vulcan say that it was fortunate the robot didn't detect his presence and deactivate his phaser. Well, that certainly was convenient, wasn’t it? The M4's phaser disablement system may only work for a short period, and at very close range - possibly even point blank - thus enabling Spock to fire before the phaser could be disabled. # At one point, to demonstrate his power, Flint grabs the Enterprise out of space, reduces it to the size of a large model, and deposits it on a desktop. Either the desktop is very sturdy, or Flint has some way of decreasing the ship’s mass at the same time he shrunk its size. If not, the ship would retain its weight and crush the table into tiny pieces.There could be a powerful anti gravity unit built into the table. # Seeing his ship resting on a tabletop, Kirk wanders over and looks into the bridge. The shot changes to show Kirk peering into the main viewscreen. This actually makes sense, even though Kirk stands beside the ship and not in front of it! In all likelihood, while the ship orbits the planet, the viewscreen would be set to port. On the other hand, Kirk acts as if he can actually see the crew. The viewscreen isn't a window, it's an electronic display, and it isn't on the side of the ship, it’s in front. ls Kirk seeing the crew through the bubble in the ceiling of the bridge? He is actually examining the exterior of the ship, to make sure it is the enterprise, and not a model designed to fool him. # After Rayna collapses, McCoy hurries over and feels her neck for a pulse. Let's see . . . he feels the mechanical woman’s neck tor a pulse. Rayna is designed to fully duplicate a real live human woman, so it makes sense that her systems would include a simulation of a human pulse. Internet Movie Database Miscellaneous # Rayna's name in the end credits is spelled "Reena." This could be an alternate spelling. Category:The Original Series Category:Episodes